The Problem
For refugees coming to America, one of the hardest parts of the transition can be finding a new job. A job is important for more than just a paycheck. It is a chance to meet new people, practice language skills, and find a sense of fulfillment and self-worth after what can be a jarring and disorienting move.
Enter Emma’s Torch
We are a non-profit social enterprise. We provide refugees with in-depth culinary training as well as employability, equity, and empowerment training. Throughout our program, students learn in both a classroom and apprentice setting, thanks to our cafes and catering businesses. We set students up for successful employment in an industry in which their cultural heritage and cuisine can be celebrated. What’s more, we provide a community in which they can build supportive relationships.
Our Mission
To empower refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking through culinary education.
Our Vision
A country where survivors of forced migration are welcomed as drivers of the economy and enhancers of our communities.
Who We Serve
As is unfortunately typical of the refugee experience, our students face intersecting stressors in their new environments. Many live below the poverty level, experience housing instability, lack access to basic resources like medical and child care, and have limited English language skills. Our work not only provides them with access to the job market, but helps them gain the confidence and financial stability to make their own choices, and have full agency over their new lives here in the United States.
Our Partners
We partner with some of the largest refugee resettlement and advocacy organizations in the world. Our partners help us identify refugees, asylees and survivors of human trafficking who would be a good fit for our program.
The Evolving Restaurant Industry
Restaurants are struggling to fill line cook positions. We collaborate with some of the most renowned chefs, industry leaders and restaurant groups to help our students find jobs after they graduate.
Our Program Sites
We have three program sites:
Washington, DC
Brooklyn, NY
Inwood, Manhattan, NY
Our History
Our Namesake, Emma Lazarus
Emma Lazarus was a Jewish woman living in New York in the 19th century. She was a tireless advocate for refugees. She called for action during a time when the voices of women were so rarely heard.
Emma also made her voice heard through her poetry, which won her praise from an early age. Her 1883 sonnet, “The New Colossus,” is her most well-known work since some of its verses adorn the base of the Statue of Liberty. Her words are emblematic of a vision for the United States whose core value is welcoming new arrivals.
For over 100 years, those words have greeted thousands of refugees fleeing hardship and dreaming of a better life in America. Although Lady Liberty is no longer the first site for those coming to the United States, the words still ring true.
We honor Emma’s advocacy and her emphasis on vocational training. She created a movement whose legacy we are proud to uphold.
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”